A Chance Encounter
by GoldenGirlSherry
Summary: Angela runs into and has an unexpected conversation with someone from the past.


Angela looked at her watch for the fifth time in ten minutes and sighed. Her client had insisted on going out to a local restaurant/bar to have some drinks before he signed the contract Angela and Jack had come up with. But, he was running late leaving Angela with nothing to do but people watch.

There were couples. Young couples. Old couples. There were families. Families with only one child. Families with more than one. Families that rivaled the Brady Bunch. Finally, there were the singles. Men. Women. One single woman in particular caught her attention. She was sitting at the bar and was turned away from her partially hidden by the man sitting besides her. But, she was almost positive she knew who the woman was. Her guess was proven true when the man got out of his chair and the woman swiveled her seat around and locked eyes with her.

Kathleen.

For a moment it felt like everyone and everything else went away. They both stared at each other both contemplating the situation. To Angela it felt like the wife seeing her husband's mistress. She shook her head at her silly thoughts. She wasn't Tony's wife and Kathleen wasn't Tony's mistress. She was his girlfriend. Well ex-girlfriend, she remembered with relief. She did feel a twinge of sympathy though. She knew what is was like to have feelings for Tony. Breaking up with him must have been devastating. It was how she had felt when Tony told her that he didn't know if things were over with Kathleen. Devastated. So in that regard she did have a touch of sympathy.

To her surprise she saw Kathleen get off her chair and walk over to her table.

"Hello Angela."

"Hello Kathleen."

"May I join you? There are um some things I need to say."

Angela hesitated but when she saw the sincerity in Kathleen's eyes she relented.

"Please." she gestured to the empty seat.

"Thank you." Kathleen said and sat down.

"So what can I do for you?"

"I guess you know that Tony and I broke up."

"Yes, I do. I am sorry."

"Are you?" It wasn't an accusatory question but a curious one.

"I am." Angela answered sincerely. "I've been through a few break-ups myself and I know how hard they can be."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

For a few moments they sat in silence until Kathleen spoke again.

"You know why we broke up don't you?"

"Tony said a lot of stuff was getting in the way. College, work, and things…. she trailed off recalling the way Tony had glanced at her when he said: "Things."

"Actually it was because of you."

"Me?!" Angela was unsure on how to act. On the one hand she wanted to cry out with joy. But, on the other hand her cautious nature told her not to expect to much.

Kathleen nodded. "He cares about you very much."

"Well we're best friends and we helped raise each other's children." Angela rationalized.

"It's more than that. He um…." she cleared her throat. This was one of the hardest things she ever had to say. Telling another woman that the man she was no longer with, but still in love with that he had feelings for her. But, she cared a great deal for Tony and always would and wanted him to be happy.

"He's in love with you Angela." she said quietly and sat back to gauge her reaction. Angela expression changed to a combination of relief and apprehension.

"How...how do you know that?" she asked a slight tremor in her voice.

"The night we broke up I had asked him what sort of furniture he thought would have looked best in my living room. I told him I wanted him to feel comfortable. Like it was his home." Angela bristled at the thought of Tony feeling at home at Kathleen's and again breathed a quiet sigh of relief they were no longer together.

"Do you know what he told me?" Angela shook her head wanting and not wanting to know. Her two sides once again battled against one another.

"He said there was something holding him back. That something is you." Kathleen said gently.

Angela couldn't believe what she was hearing. When Tony had told her that "things" were getting in the way and had glanced her way she had been filled with hope. But, that hope had quickly dwindled. Okay, to be fair things had been a little hectic the past few weeks. Sam had moved out. Billy had moved in. She had broken up with Andy. So much was going on she could barely keep it all straight.

"Did he…. what else did he say?"

"He said that he didn't know what he would be doing in the future but that he couldn't see it without you." Kathleen looked away for a moment to gather her thoughts. She would have done almost anything for Tony to think that about her. That she was his future. But, she wasn't and probably had never been. She had seen the look in his eyes and heard the tone in his voice whenever he talked about Angela. She had denied it for as long and as hard as she could until that night. The night she could no longer deny it; the night of their breakup.

She looked back at Angela and for a brief moment they both felt a strange sense of being on common ground. They were two women both in love with the same man who had treated them both shabbily but whom they still wanted in their lives. Unfortunately for one of them that wish would never come true.

"So I told him that I thought it was better if we ended things since he had someone else-you- on the back of his mind."

"That must have been difficult." Angela said sincerely.

Kathleen nodded. "It was but it was the right thing to do. If we had stayed together he would always have you on his mind. And I deserve better than that."

Angela smiled . "You do." It was funny under different circumstances they could have been friends. She remembered how much she had enjoyed talking to her in the kitchen after inviting her and the rest of the study group to make up for kicking them out the previous night. She mentally kicked herself remembering that if she hadn't Tony and Kathleen wouldn't have ended up in bed together. But, the past was the past. All she could do, all they could do was move forward.

"Thank you." Kathleen got out of her chair. "Thank you for listening. For what it's worth I hope things work out for you."

"Thank you. The same to you."

"Good bye Angela."

"Good bye Kathleen."

Kathleen turned and walked back to her seat. Angela thought over their conversation. Once again her two sides battled for control. Her take charge side told her to go home and tell Tony that she loved him. Her cautious side however told her not to.

Guess which side won?


End file.
